C220 CDI Coupe Cataylst replacement

[deadmeat]

Blocked Cataylst

In a bid to to get my coupe to do over 20 mph uphills my local Merc dealer is quoting £1400+ ! Thats £600 & £400 for the two pipes, fitting and VAT.

Can anyone recommend a cheaper replacement ? I've heard some owners have taken the inners out, or replaced the Cataylsts with just a pipe. I'd rather keep it as intended, I just consider the price to be astounding. I don't expect it to cost the same as £150 Vauxhall Corsa item, but ten times the cost ?

e.g www.OnlineAutomotive.co.uk quote £267.38 and £139 for the first and second Cat. Anyone used them ?

Cheers

 

[Will]

Hi there deadmeat

I think one of the things to consider is that genuine MB cats are of the best quality. Catalytic converters are expensive mainly because of the materials that they are made with, cheap ones tend to be of poorer quality - they often don't last and sound tinny. How long are you intending to keep the car for?

Having said that, I do agree - £400 sounds a lot cheaper than £1000.

Are you 110% certain that they're at fault, and both of them? It would be awful to spend that kind of cash and find that the fault isn't completely cured.

What about a 2nd hand genuine part? I imagine there must be at least a few in the specialist breakers by now?

Good luck,

Will

 

[deadmeat]

dealer says first cat has broken up blocking up second. ????
Went to local tyre/exhaust fiiting centre today, took off undertray and have a look. The sprung joint holding the two has split with the pressure so they are probably right.
There is some exhaust fumes coming out the back so its not totally blocked.
I'm particaluarly not happy having spent £782 on it on Monday on the gearbox control unit as the car wouldn't go above 2500 rpm. After this there was still no change , but with the pipe having since broke I presume it was the Catalyst all along. The garage claim the computer pointed to the control unit.
So having spent £782 with another £1400 to go and I still may not have a working car I'm a bit upset and rather go somewhere else.

I used to have a 1997 E300 TD which was fine, apart from the rusting. Old pre-1995 Mercs are fabs, hope someone at the top gets sensible and returns to low volume quality rather than the VW/Ford route they have taken to mass produced disposible items.

 

[CiaranMcKeown]

TBH, i didnt want to spend that amount of money replacing two cats either.
What i did wa get them removed, get the matrix removed from the inside (this is like a big brick) and then put the empty cats back.

The difference is noticable, its a bit quicker, it pulls a lot better.

There is a slight increase in exhaust note but i can put up with that no problem.

 

[CiaranMcKeown]

TBH, i didnt want to spend that amount of money replacing two cats either.
What i did wa get them removed, get the matrix removed from the inside (this is like a big brick) and then put the empty cats back.

The difference is noticable, its a bit quicker, it pulls a lot better.

There is a slight increase in exhaust note but i can put up with that no problem.

 

[CiaranMcKeown]

all in it cost me £90 thankyou very much.

 

[vijilants]

Blocked Cataylst

In a bid to to get my coupe to do over 20 mph uphills my local Merc dealer is quoting £1400+ ! Thats £600 & £400 for the two pipes, fitting and VAT.

Can anyone recommend a cheaper replacement ? I've heard some owners have taken the inners out, or replaced the Cataylsts with just a pipe. I'd rather keep it as intended, I just consider the price to be astounding. I don't expect it to cost the same as £150 Vauxhall Corsa item, but ten times the cost ?

e.g www.OnlineAutomotive.co.uk quote £267.38 and £139 for the first and second Cat. Anyone used them ?

Cheers

You can try Longlife exhausts. They quoted me recently and it was half the price of MB.

Their CATs are freeflow, so technically you should get a bit more performance.

 

[crockers]

TBH, i didnt want to spend that amount of money replacing two cats either.
What i did wa get them removed, get the matrix removed from the inside (this is like a big brick) and then put the empty cats back.

The difference is noticable, its a bit quicker, it pulls a lot better.

There is a slight increase in exhaust note but i can put up with that no problem.

Wont this fail the MOT when they test the emissions?

 

[CiaranMcKeown]

Diesels dont get emmisions tests.

 

[GazCaff]

Wont this fail the MOT when they test the emissions?

My car has passed at least the last three MOTs without a Cat (could well be more as it was the previous owner who has the cat-less exhaust fitted).

 

[deadmeat]

Final scores were:-
Dealer £1500 (£1100 parts + fitting + VAT)
MB Breaker £300 (for used 41,000 miler, parts only see partgateway.co.uk)
CatMan/OnlineAutos approx £500 (for new parts not OEM)
LongLife Exhausts £349 (for new stainless steel pipes, sports cat inc fitting and vat)

So, thanks everyone. Went to longlife at Bristol who were very helpful and even gave me a coutesy car for the day. As its a 2001, doesn't need a cat they said (only post August 2002 ones do ?) but as its the wifes's and she wouldn't be best pleased if it got throaty, so had a sports cat. Total cost for pipes at cat were £297 + VAT = £349 inc fitting).

Thats over £1100 saving compared to MB dealer ! No choice really.